ANIMAL lovers who discovered a dog almost dying in the street called in the cops and the RSPCA – but were shocked to be told by the charity to “let it go, and it will find its own way home”.

Last night they lashed out at the RSPCA for not turning out to help the pooch, which was in a terrible state.

Tina Fitzpatrick, who was one of those who found the French Bullmastiff dodging traffic on Queslett Road in Great Barr, Birmingham, said: “The dog was in awful condition.

“It kept collapsing. It had belonged to somebody but had been badly neglected.

“It was dehydrated, underweight and had marks around its neck from where it had been kept on a chain.

“Its mouth was full of ulcers and all its teeth had gone from gnawing at the chain. It was terrible to see.”

The passers-by rang the police, who managed to get the dog to safety at the side of the road and then contacted the RSPCA.

What happened next outraged Tina, 41, of Kingstanding, who has three dogs herself.

“The RSPCA said they didn’t have any wardens free to come out and collect the animal,” she said. “The police officer asked, ‘what shall I do with the dog?’ and the RSPCA told him, ‘just let it go and it will find its own way home’.

“He was shocked and couldn’t believe it. There was no way you could let the dog go. What would have happened if it had got hit by a car or run into the road and caused an accident?

“It wasn’t a small dog. It was enormous, the size of a small Shetland pony.”

The dog stayed with a friend of Tina’s overnight, and they rang an emergency vet.

Yesterday Tina rang Birmingham City Council, which despatched a warden to collect the dog to take it to a vet for treatment. It was later due to be transferred to Birmingham Dogs Home.

“I know the dog wasn’t injured,” said Tina. “But we told the RSPCA it was in a bad way and kept collapsing. They still refused to come out. For them to tell us to let the dog loose on a busy road was irresponsible and unforgivable.

“I’m disgusted by their behaviour. I used to give money to them, but won’t anymore.”

But a spokeswoman for the RSPCA said the organisation would never have told anybody to release a dog on the road.

“If a dog is injured or in danger then we always try our best to get there,” she said.

“If an inspector is not available then we advise the caller to contact the police, or call out a vet. We would never, under any circumstances, tell someone to just let the dog go, because that would put the animal in danger.”

In this situation, she said, the dog was the responsibility of the council’s wardens because it was not injured,

“If there’s nothing wrong with the dog then it’s the local authority who should take it,” she said.